Mr Gondal beat the 25 to 100 favourite colt The Great Shah, which was mauled by the winner by two lengths, impressively and was never challenged at any stage of the gruelling race in a magnificent display of speed, stamina and endurance.

LAHORE: Rank outsider bay colt Mr Gondal won the feature event, the December Cup, a term race of 1600m for three-year-old thoroughbreds, defeating a tiny field of three opponents to wear the rob of champion in a stunning performance here at the Racecourse on Sunday.

Filly Widad finished third, a length behind, while filly Hassan’s Heights completed the frame.

A prominent owner and Lahore Race Club (LRC) member Mahmood Khan gave away the cup to the winning owner flanked by the trainer and rider Mazhar Ali to commemorate their victory at the prize distribution ceremony.

The supporting feature, the Malik Hamid Ali Noon Memorial Cup, a term race for two-year-old thoroughbred and half-bred colts and fillies contested over 1200 metres, went to bay colt Mr Perfect who beat favourite filly Nostalgia by two lengths at the finish line. Bay filly Bortie and chestnut filly Queen completed the frame, respectively.

Twice beaten roan filly, Magical City, on her previous outings won the opener to give a victory boost to well-known trainer A.B. Malik to spur him into action.

Meanwhile female rider Alishba Mohsin, a new entrant in the racing field, is finding it difficult to continue riding because of the non-cooperative attitude of the male-dominated field of equine sports.

It was the third occasion on Sunday when Alishba was denied participation in races, although the owners had declared that she would ride their horse. However, the management replaced her with a male rider of less calibre.

She was to ride bay horse Jalpana Prince, but at the last moment was replaced with a novice rider Haroon Gulzar on some pretext who finished way behind the board. If such an inappropriate scenario continues at the racecourse, one fears the doors for Alishba and other female riders in all likelihood will be closed.

Results:

Tuman Khan Plate Class VII Div VI-900M.

Magical City (Mohammad Safdar Jutt) 8-3 Gul Zaib 1. Chota Bravo 8-8 Kashif Arshad 2. Bright Bomber 8-10 Khatki 3. Salam—e-Muhabbat 7-8 M. Ajmal 4.

Won by 6 L, 8 L, 2 ½ L. Time 59 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by A. B. Malik.

Tuman Khan Plate Class VII Div IV & V-900M.

Silken Black (Kashif Saeed Butt) 9-0 Munir Hussain 1. Silent Assassin 8-8 Javed Iqbal 2. Safdar Princess 7-8 Safdar Ali 32. After hero 7-8 M.Hanif 4.

Won by 3 L, 4 L, 5 L. Time 58 4/5 seconds. Winner trained by S. Butt.

Tuman Khan Plate Class VII Div III & IV-900M.

Chhota Dera (Asim Raza) 8-2 Mubashar Bhatti 1. Lalay De Jan 8-10 M. Ajmal 2. Tatla Princess 7-10 M. Sajjad 3. Golden Arrow 8-0 Shahzad Bhatti 4.

Won by 2 ½ L, Neck, ½ L. Time 54 1/5 seconds. Winner trained by Tanveer Aslam.

December Cup, a term race for three-year-old thorough colts and fillies-1600M.

Mr Gondal (Haji Choudhry Asghar Ali) 8-12 Mazhar Ali 1. The Great Shah 8-12 Aftab Choudhry 2. Widad 8-9 Tahir Abbas 3. Hassan’s Heights 8-9 Aamir Pervez 4.

Won by 2 L, 1 L, 7 L. Time one minute 39 3/5 seconds. Winner trained by Rafaqat Ali.

Malik Hamid Ali Noon Memorial Cup C, a term race for two year old thoroughbred and half-bred colts and fillies (Maidens)-12100M.

Mr Perfect (Ch. Mahmood Ahmad) 8-8 Aamir Pervez 1. Nostalgia 8-5 Aftab Choudhry 2. Bortie 8-5 Mubashar Bhatti 3. Queen 8-5 M. Hanif 4.

Won by 2 L, 3 L, 6 L. Time one minute 12 seconds. Winner trained by Haji Abid Mahmood.

Tuman Khan Plate Class VII Div I-1100M.

Brave Eagle (Asif Inayat Shahani & Mian M. Farrukh) 8-3 Mazhar Ali 1. Hussan-e-Kainaat 8-4 Tahir Abbas 2. Timbo 7-12 Munir Hussain 3. Nayel 8-10 M. Waseem 4.

Won by 6 L, 1 2/2 L, Short-head. Time one minute 6 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by M. Afzal.

Tuman Khan Plate Class VII Div II-1100M.

Barbarian’s Charge (Zaman Khan) 8-12 Javed Iqbal 1. Banaras Prince 8-6 Shakeel Mahmood 2. Candle 8-6 M. Ajmal 3. Hassan’s Champion 7-12 Aamir Pervez 4.

Won by Neck, 6 L, 1 ½ L. Time one minute 7 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Tauqeer Ahmad.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2021